Dr. Joel Simon of UCSF and his associates analyzed data from 13,130 men and women in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted between 1988 and 1994. The study measured levels of vitamin C in the blood and used ultrasound exams to check for gallstones.

They reported in today's Archives of Internal Medicine that low levels of vitamin C in the blood were associated with increased numbers of gallstones in women, but not in men. Women who used supplements containing vitamin C had a 34% lower incidence of gallbladder disease. The absence of a link in men suggests that men and women process bile acids differently.

Dr. Gunilla Ringback Weitoft and colleagues from the Swedish National Board of Health & Welfare studied 90,000 single mothers and more than 620,000 mothers with partners, finding that the single mothers' risk of premature death was more than 70% higher than that of mothers with partners.